End of summer wrap up

As hard as it is to believe, summer (at least for me) is winding down. The teachers in our district returned to work last week, and tomorrow is the first day back for students. I know that by most standards this is very early, but since we're on a modified year-round schedule, everyone returns sooner than they used to. Summer feels done when school starts back, no matter what the calendar says. Or the thermometer, for that matter. *

I was thinking this morning about what the last few months have been like and the things I've neglected to make note of on the blog. Here's a snapshot of summer 2024 for me:

The Garden

If it hadn't been for the massive harvest of cucumbers and the rattlesnake beans Mary Moon sent me, it would have been a total failure. I got no tomatoes, very few peppers, and the melons I had such high hopes for only produced a handful of small, hard fruits that turned yellow and started to go bad before they ever started to ripen. I blame the sweltering heat and humidity that went on for weeks with no break. And not a drop of rain between mid-June and mid-July. Even the garden pests like hornworms and aphids didn't bother to show up--that's what shit my garden was this year. So disappointing! 

At least the zinnias never let me down! 

The Van:

Saturday before last we bought my friend Karen's Dodge van for Gregg to use when he services aquariums. His old Ford Ranger truck isn't safe to drive anywhere beyond a 3- or 4-mile radius of home these days. We bought it way back in 2007, and it was already high mileage then. All these years later, almost nothing on it works properly. ** We've been sharing my Scion for the most part. Karen got a new car recently and mentioned that she'd probably be selling the van cheap, and we jumped at the opportunity to buy it. Like the truck, it's old and has a lot of miles, but everything works and it's in decent shape. Some of Gregg's aquariums are in neighboring towns, and now he has something he can comfortably drive without having to wait until my car is available. Plus, the van holds all the gear he needs so he doesn't have to constantly pack and unpack my car. It's reassuring to know he's got access to a more reliable vehicle while I'm at work. 

Best of all, we only paid $1200 for it! 

Another advantage is that the dogs can get into and out of the van much more easily than either the truck or my Scion. It's lower to the ground and that's important now that George is getting older and has a bit of arthritis in his back knees. Then there's the fact that there's ample room to drive both dogs around at the same time! We took them for their first ever ride together in it last weekend. They loved it.

The Specs:

I finally broke down and bought some much-needed new glasses this week. I nearly choked when I saw the bill: over $450! I guess it's been a long time since I've had new glasses, and the price of pretty much everything has gone up, but damn. I keep reminding myself I paid for several pricey extras: thinner lenses that don't look like Coke bottles, bifocals that seamlessly progress (no lines), and a glare reduction feature that's supposed to be good for people who stare at screens all day. Plus, they're scratch resistant. It still seems like a lot though.

 

Taken last night in my office at my school's Open House. I'd picked up the new glasses that afternoon while on a break. After an 11-hour day, I was exhausted, and looked it. But I like the glasses!

Health:

This will be a separate blogpost that I've been thinking about for awhile, so I won't talk about it too much here. (This post is long enough already). But I will mention two things: I've gotten better control of the eczema that's plagued me for years, and in the last eight weeks I've lost 24 pounds. Those two things alone feel major.

*As Spo (the dear!) just pointed out, in the Celtic calendar tomorrow (August 1st) is Lammas, the first day of autumn. 

** I want to cry at the thought of getting rid of the truck. We've had it so long, since the year after we got married, that it seems like a member of the family. I know it's silly, but I felt guilty when I watched Gregg remove the tag and put it on the new van! Our tentative plan is to donate it our local PBS station, SCETV. They have an old car donation program that we've used before, and it's a very worthwhile charity.